Second, it is important to note the name --- advisory committee and not search committee. This wasn't by accident. As we have reported here from the start, the decision on a new coach will be made by president Mark Emmert and AD Scott Woodward. They are making that even more clear by calling this an advisory committee instead of a search committee, as has usually been the case.

Woodward said earlier today that the committee is indeed being formed just to give advice in a general sense.

"It is clearly an advisory committee that is set forth to give us the qualities and characteristics they want the next coach to have,'' Woodward said. "And that's obviously integrity and that how we do things is crucially important, as well as well as what the core mission of this university is, which is to compete and compete at the highest level.''

So the intent of the committee isn't necessarily to pore over names but to give advise in a general sense. And this was an expected part of the process all along --- Woodward said on the day of the announcement that Tyrone Willingham wouldn't be back next season that such a committee would be formed.

Woodward said he and Emmert "had dialogue'' with the committee on Tuesday night.

He also said that the forming of the committee doesn't rule out an announcement of a new coach before early December, but that the reality is it's hard to see a hire happening before then.

"You never rule out anything,'' he said. "But as you well know, it's highly unlikely a sitting head football coach will leave his football team in the middle of the regular season. And that doesn't preclude me from talking to coordinators or someone from the NFL. Everything is open. I don't have a narrow window that I'm shopping for coaches.''

But Woodward said that while work has been done on the search, it is nowhere near the completion stage.

"This is kind of like courting your wife or girlfriend,'' he said. "We are at the hand-holding and kissing stage. We are not at the altar yet.''